[IOS] Best ipad reader to use with caliber

[emanueol]

Originally Posted by ilovejedd

For technical documents, I definitely recommend getting a tablet with 4:3 aspect ratio instead of the more geared towards video 16:10 or 16:9.

Some pics of my iPads taken using an iPhone 7. Note, the images are HUGE.

Image #1: Pro 12.9 in landscape double page
Image #2: Pro 12.9 in portrait single page
Image #3: Pro 12.9 and iPad 9.7 in portrait single page
Image #4: iPad 9.7 in portrait single page

Spoiler:

Oh you are amazing!! Thanks so much, thats exactly what I tried to see in the apple shop here in Cork.

• I like both the iPad Pro 12" 2x pages landscape - but i felt this ipad too heavy for a single hand reading.
• I also enjoyed your iPad Pro 9.7" single pad portrait - looks good.

1. Can you please tell, if the document you used is a PDF ?
2. What reader app you used ?
3. Since I need to connect to my caliber server (windows laptop), would the reader you used able to connect ?
4. Or would it be compatible with ios Caliber Companion ?
5. Do you use Caliber Companion as well in your iPads ?

[emanueol]

Originally Posted by ilovejedd

Honestly, it doesn't make sense that you felt the iPad Pro 10.5 in portrait was small and the text not legible compared to the Fire (both smaller display and lower pixel density). Even with margins cropped on the Fire, PDF displayed on the browser should still be bigger and the built-in PDF renderer should display them quite adequately.

I think your frustration and lack of familiarity with the software might have colored your perception when it came to actual PDF rendering abilities.

Mind, iBooks should've been pre-installed on shop models and it can definitely display PDFs in fullscreen paged mode.

For reference (dimensions calculated from diagonal size and aspect ratio):

Letter
8.5" x 11"

Pro 12.9
7.8" x 10.3"

Pro 10.5
6.3" x 8.4"

iPad 9.7
5.8" x 7.8"

Android 10.1" 1920x1200
5.4" x 8.6"

Android 8.0" 1920x1200
4.2" x 6.8"

1. Oh I see, i just did little math to confirm how close above list is from 4:3 ratio, and all ipads are 4:3, but the 2 androids are not.. they are smaller in width than they should to be 4:3.
2. Seems the difference between iPad Pro 10.5" and the new iPad 9.7" (2018) is around 1cm extra in both dimensions.. so logically i would imagine its not worth to pay the double for the extra cm (and the other pro nice to have feature that screen adapts colors/brightness depending on ambient light) ?

[ilovejedd]

Originally Posted by emanueol

1. Can you please tell, if the document you used is a PDF ?
2. What reader app you used ?
3. Since I need to connect to my caliber server (windows laptop), would the reader you used able to connect ?
4. Or would it be compatible with ios Caliber Companion ?
5. Do you use Caliber Companion as well in your iPads ?

1. PDF (ThinkPad X131e Hardware Maintenance Manual)
2. GoodReader. It's been crashing way too often lately, though. I've switched to PDF Expert. Alas, PDF Expert doesn't support double page view. Works perfectly fine in portrait mode.
3. If you have Content Server enabled, GoodReader has an in-app web browser that you can use to access the Content Server.
4. Yes, it would. Calibre Companion should work with any app the can import PDF via the iOS share sheet.
5. Nope. I tried it but I find having to switch between two apps when I want to download ebooks annoying. It's also quite behind the Android version. I either use Dropbox or Calibre's built-in content server to download books.

[ilovejedd]

Originally Posted by emanueol

1. Oh I see, i just did little math to confirm how close above list is from 4:3 ratio, and all ipads are 4:3, but the 2 androids are not.. they are smaller in width than they should to be 4:3.
2. Seems the difference between iPad Pro 10.5" and the new iPad 9.7" (2018) is around 1cm extra in both dimensions.. so logically i would imagine its not worth to pay the double for the extra cm (and the other pro nice to have feature that screen adapts colors/brightness depending on ambient light) ?

1. All iPads released thus far are 4:3 aspect ratio. Most Android tablets are either 16:10 or 16:9. Great for watching videos, not so much for PDFs. There are a few like the Galaxy Tab S3 that are 4:3. For tablets, I generally prefer 4:3. Aspect ratio is actually one of the primary reasons I use an iPad.
   
2. One thing to consider, the iPad Pro 10.5 has 4GB RAM. The 2018 iPad only has 2GB. The difference in processing power is nothing to sneeze at either. While I would normally recommend the 2018 iPad 9.7 (or even 2017 iPad 9.7 on clearance sale) to most of my friends and family, for large technical PDFs with lots of graphics, the Pro 10.5 might be better suited.
   
   Note, the hardware manual I used in the photos actually crashed GoodReader twice on the 9.7" iPad Air 2 (2GB RAM). It seems to be a new bug as I've never had issues before. Worked just fine on the Pro 12.9 (4GB RAM), though.

[emanueol]

Thanks so much, for your great support and insights ilovejedd, I feel now Im fully aware of a-to-zed on this quest of mine "2018 need a new ereader" <3

[emanueol]

Originally Posted by ilovejedd

1. All iPads released thus far are 4:3 aspect ratio. Most Android tablets are either 16:10 or 16:9. Great for watching videos, not so much for PDFs. There are a few like the Galaxy Tab S3 that are 4:3. For tablets, I generally prefer 4:3. Aspect ratio is actually one of the primary reasons I use an iPad.
   
2. One thing to consider, the iPad Pro 10.5 has 4GB RAM. The 2018 iPad only has 2GB. The difference in processing power is nothing to sneeze at either. While I would normally recommend the 2018 iPad 9.7 (or even 2017 iPad 9.7 on clearance sale) to most of my friends and family, for large technical PDFs with lots of graphics, the Pro 10.5 might be better suited.
   
   Note, the hardware manual I used in the photos actually crashed GoodReader twice on the 9.7" iPad Air 2 (2GB RAM). It seems to be a new bug as I've never had issues before. Worked just fine on the Pro 12.9 (4GB RAM), though.

Just another point on this, as I was checking something in apple's compare page.. i suspect the sizes you provided are really the screens only excluding the around border right ? it looks so

[ilovejedd]

Originally Posted by emanueol

Just another point on this, as I was checking something in apple's compare page.. i suspect the sizes you provided are really the screens only excluding the around border right ? it looks so

Yep. Just the display, doesn’t include the bezels.

[emanueol]

Originally Posted by ilovejedd

Yep. Just the display, doesn’t include the bezels.

Thanks, that was great.. better knowing real screen size than device size, well both helps but definitively real screen size is great to know.

[ilovejedd]

Originally Posted by emanueol

Thanks, that was great.. better knowing real screen size than device size, well both helps but definitively real screen size is great to know.

Please note, those dimensions are just calculations I did based on Pythagorean theorem. Unfortunately, most device specifications just list the diagonal screen size and resolution or aspect ratio so one needs to calculate the physical width and height themselves.

[emanueol]

Ok decision time, heres the 3 devices that got my interest:
https://www.gsmarena.com/compare.php...&idPhone3=8554

1. iPad 9.7" ( 2018)
2. Huawei MediaPad M5 10 (just released as well)
3. Samsung Galaxy Tab S3 9.7

As a long time android user, zero experience with ipad/ios, afraid it will be hard to replicate my current reading experience (android Caliber Companion + reader "Moon+ Plus Pro") in the ipad side of things (caliber companion ios project not as active as the android one, my reader moon doesnt exist for ios and my main reading interest are technical PDFs (like this one for example: https://docs.oracle.com/cd/B19306_01...102/b14251.pdf ).

Any last minute thoughts on my uses cases? Thanks very much to all being part on this quest of mine in deciding what new device shall I buy given my context.

[ilovejedd]

Given your greater familiarity with Android, my vote goes to the Galaxy Tab S3. It's a better form factor than the Huawei for PDFs.

While I greatly enjoy my iPad, I'm sure as with most Android users, you'll find the lack of file system access on iOS to be terribly frustrating. Plus, the Galaxy has microSD slot so it's much less expensive to add more storage.